Feeding apparatus for thrashing-machines



(NoModel.) A

' W. H. LIGHTGAP.

PBBDING APPARATUS FOR THRASHING MACHINES.

10.262,064.` Patented Angl, 18812..

N. PETERS Mlhagmphw. Washington. D. Q

y fp AUNrireio STATES PATENT Querce.

VVILLIAM-H. LIGHTCAP, OF HAZEL GREEN, WISCONSIN.

`FEEDING APPARAI'US FOR THRASHING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 262,064, `dated August 1, 1882 application ined January 1e, ieee. (No model.)

To all' 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. LIGHTCAP, of Hazel Green, in the county of Grant and State ot' Visconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Feeding Apparatus for Thrashing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus for feeding unthrashed straw to thrashing-machines, whereby the bundles of grain fed to the machine may pass successively under the influence of a band-cutter, feeder, and distributer before reaching the thrashing-cylinder, thus enabling the grain to be delivered to the cylinder in the most satisfactory manner necessary to accomplish good andA thorough work; and the invention consists in the novel construction of the distribliter and its novel arrangement with relation to the thrashing-cylinder; in the novel construction of the feeding deviceand itsnovel arrangement with relation to said distributer and the band-cutting device, and in the various novel combinations of the above-mentioned elements with one another and with suitable means for operating them in conjunction with the thrashing-cylinder shaft, all as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In order that persons skilled in the art may understand the construction and operation of my improvements, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure `1 is a perspective view of my improvements as applied to a thrashing-machine; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the same and of the means employed for operating the distributer, and Fig. 3 a View in detail ot' said distributer.

A suitable frame 'for supporting the several parts of my improved feeding apparatus is formed by extensions or win gs A A', arranged upon each side of the thrashing-cylinder compartment A2, and secured in a permanent mannerto the main frame-work of the thrashingmachine. These wings extend forward a suffi cient distance to allow the feeding and distributing devices to be properly mounted thereon, andl are of'a suitable size and strength to safely sustain said parts and the necessary means for operating them. The upper sur,- faces of the wings are in the line of a horizontal plane passingjust over the thrashing-cylinder, while their under surfaces are made on a bevel or incline, so that when united by a base or bottom board they will form an inclined mouth or chute leading to the throat of the thrashing-cylinder. Lengthwise this chute, and at an incline to the throat ofthe thrasher. a hollow casing, B, consisting of two truncated cones meeting at their small ends, is arranged, lia-ving its sides concaved so that the center shall be considerably less in diameter than theends, and being armed upon its interior with teeth or projections b. The casing is properly supported by means of bracketarms C U' and C2 C3, arranged respectively upon each side at or near the ends, and secured to wings A A' by means of bolts or in any other suitable manner. The bearingsurface of these bracket-arms is curvedsoas to fit nicely against the body of casing B at the points of support, and thus permit its revolving therein. The outer end of the casing is provided with a flange, b', which,.engaging with the sides ot' the brackets or arms O G',

Varranged at that point, prevents anylongitudinal movement toward the throat otthe thrasher. The casing is preferably made of cast-iron and in three or more longitudinal sections or parts, (shown in Fig. 3,) which can be secured together in any of the usual ways resorted to by machinists. The teeth provided upon its interior are of steel or chilled iron, and` are secured to each of the sections before uniting them in the usual manner. The diameter `otI the casing at its endsshould be nearly equal to the width of the chute in which it is placed, and its length should be from three to four feet, in order to accomplish the most satisfactory work of distributing the straw to the thrashing-cylinder. Y

In front of casin g B two cylinders or rollers, I) E, are suitably mounted so as to discharge the straw fed by them directly into said casing. The rollers D E are provided with grooves d d, which extend from end to end ot' each, for the purpose of taking hold of'the straw and drawing it between them. The lower roller has suitable bearings upon the wings A A', while the upper one is journaled in longitudinal slots e', with which its vertical supports e e, secured to said wings, are provided. By this arrangement various-sized bundles of the unthrashed grain can be fed between the rollers and the rollers bejust a-s eit'ective in feeding the straw toward the distributing device as though the bundles were all of a similar size.

In front and at or near the center of the rollers I provide a knife, F, for cutting the bands of the bundles of grain as they are being fed into the machine. This knife has its lower end rigidly secured to the front ot' the inclined chute, and it curves backward, as shown, with its upper end extendingr across the iced-opening between the rollers D E.

To the front of the wings A A is secured in a removable manner, as shown, a frame, G, provided with a carrying-belt, H, upon which the bundles of grain are placed to be fed to the machine. This belt is mounted upon rollers I I and Idriven by pulleys arranged respectively upon the end of the feed-rollerE and that of roller 1'.. The frame is properly supported at its front ends by uprights. The carrying-belts should be about flush with the feed-opening between the rollers D E, and be slightly raised atits receiving end. Upon one end of roller E is provided a pulley for communicating motion from the driving-shaft of the thrashing-machine. The other end of the roller is provided with a cog-wheel, J, which meshes vinto a similar cog-wheel, K, provided upon the end of shaft L, arranged at a slight incline upon the side of the wing A, being journaled in suitable bearings or supports l l',

secured to the side of said wing by bolts or in any other suitable way. A pulley, M, is mounted upon this shaft in line with the center of the cylindrical casing B, for the purpose of imparting motion thereto by means of a belt, N, passing around said pulley and casing,

las shown.

ward and deposited within the distributing device, where by means ofits revolutions the straw is brought in contact with the teeth upon its interior surface and thoroughly loosened and separated before reaching the thrashing-cylinder. The incline of the distributer is such as to allow the proper progress of the straw through its interior, which, on account of its concavity, causes the straw to be pressed closer together as it passes the center, so that whenpit reaches the thrashing-cylinder it is spread out in fan-like form, and thus fed into the cylinder regularly and evenly and with any desired rapidity. Y

The employment of my improved feeding apparatus avoids al1 tendency toward slugging the machine-that is, drawing into the cylinder too great a quantity ot' straw in a bunch-and by its use the bundles are properly cut open and the straw thoroughly loosened and separated and fed regularly and evenly in a con tin uous stream into the thrasher.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a thrashing-machine provided with wings A A', of the concaved cylindrical casing B, armed upon itsinterior with teeth b, and arranged at an incline between said wings, supports, or bearings@ C', C2 G3, and suitable means, substantially as described, for revolving said casing, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with a thrashing-machine, of the concaved cylindrical casing B, armed with teeth b, feed-rollers D E, provided with grooves d d, and mounted at the receiving end of said casing, and suitable means, substantially as described, for operating said rollers and casing conjointly, as set forth.

3. In a thrashing-machine, the combination of the distributer B, feed-rollers D E, bandcutting knife F, and suitable'means, substantially as described and shown, for operating the distributer and feedrollers conjointly from the driving-shaft of the thrashing-cylinder, as

and for the purposes set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 1st day of December, 1881.

- WILLIAM H. LIGHTCAP. Witnesses:

JNO. L. BUET'rELL, MONROE M. CADY.

IOO 

